No Day But Today
by fatal femme
Summary: A story inspired by the play Rent. Rory living a bohemian lifestyle, an abandoned apartment building in East Village. Has Rory, Madeline, Lane, Jess, and Dave, with more to come later. Literati based.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

Disclaimer: I own a computer. I own a backpack. I own 3 highlighters, in the words of Rory Gilmore, "One gets lost, one dries up, I have one left." Yeah. That pretty much sums it up. Wait. I don't even own the computer. I'm a fifteen year old girl who aspires to become a psychiatrist but meanwhile I'm content with writing fanfiction. So. Amy Sherman-Palladino owns Gilmore Girls. Not me. I also don't own Rent. And I'm not entirely sure who does. Sorry.

A/N: Hey all! Soooo... I know I put _Alone_ on hiatus, but I decided to come back to the fan fiction world. I should have probably updated _Alone_ before starting a new story but I had an idea that I was afraid I'd forget. Thanks to all the reviewers for _Alone_ and especially to those who supported my decision to put it on Hiatus. I'll put up another chapter on _Alone_ as soon as possible. Thanks again! Read and Review! You don't have to have seen Rent to understand this. The first chapter's introducing you to our characters.

**Chapter One: Prologue**

The People

Rory:

Born to Lorelai Gilmore II, a 16 year old girl, living in the high society of Hartford, Connecticut. After having Rory, Lor decided that she didn't want to raise her daughter the way she was raised. So she got on a bus to New York City. She got a job as a secretary at a magazine, and moved with her daughter to a small apartment where they lived until Rory was 15 and her mother was mugged and killed on her way home, walking from a store down the block. After she was killed, Rory freaked out, running away from Social Services. She made her way to the East Village, at first living in an alley, then breaking into a run down apartment building that had been closed for years. It was there that she met her best friend, Madeline, who was three years older than Rory, at age 18. She was working at The Cat Scratch Club, the local strip club. She was also living in one of the abandoned rooms. She managed to get Rory a job at the Cat Scratch Club as a dancer like her. Rory had always been a smart girl, reading and writing a lot, so she was kind of uncomfortable with dancing, but she became used to it and good at it after a while. She had to lie about her age to get the job. She's 19 now.

Madeline:

Madeline Lynn ran away from her family at the age of 16. Her father had always been beating her up and one day, she just cracked, hitting him upside the head with a frying pan then running away while he was unconscious. She got a job as a dancer at the Cat Scratch Club and made friends with Rory, helping her get a job. She's 22 now.

Jess:

Jess Mariano was 16 years old when his mother left with no warning, leaving without paying the rent or leaving anything for him. He couldn't stay in the apartment because when the rent wasn't paid, he would be kicked out or turned into Social Services. Jess made his way to the broken down apartment building, meeting Madeline, Rory and others. He works as a bartender at the Cat Scratch Club. He's 20 years old now.

Dave and Lane Cohen:

Dave (30 yrs old) is that manager of the Cat Scratch Club, and Lane (23) was a dancer there until they fell in love and got married. Lane now works as a bartender there. They help out Jess, Maddie and Rory as much as they can.

**A/N: And that's the end of the prologue! I'll actually get to the story next chapter. This was just to introduce the charries.**

**Review please! It makes me veeeery happy.**


	2. Chapter 2: Light My Candle

Disclaimer: I own a computer. I own a backpack. I own 3 highlighters, in the words of Rory Gilmore, "One gets lost, one dries up, I have one left." Yeah. That pretty much sums it up. Wait. I don't even own the computer. I'm a fifteen year old girl who aspires to become a psychiatrist but meanwhile I'm content with writing fanfiction. So. Amy Sherman-Palladino owns Gilmore Girls. Not me. I also don't own Rent. And I'm not entirely sure who does. Sorry.

**A/N**: Yay! Another chapter! Who else is proud of me? I will, I repeat, WILL update _Alone_ soon. It's just, I feel kind of like I've hit a rut. If anybody has any ideas, your comments would be highly appreciated. And you might recognize a couple of lines _borrowed_, not stolen, from Rent. I'm not following the plotline or anything, I just like a lot of the lines. Aaaaand here we go!

**Chapter Two: Light my Candle**

_Knock, knock._

Jess grumbled his way from the torn up couch Tristan and him had found before Tristan moved out, his breath making clouds in the air. He was freezing, and he had developed a little nest of blankets on the sofa with a worn copy of Oliver Twist.

Opening the door, he was surprised to see a thin, pretty brunette girl with bright blue eyes leaning against the door frame.

"Gotta light?" she said, holding up a white candle.

"I know you," he said, then laughed, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her toward him, kissing her on the lips softly. "I haven't seen you in a while, 'Ror."

"Had some extra shifts at the Club that I needed to take to make up for being sick last week. Didn't get in until-"

Rory suddenly bent over, coughing and trying to catch her breath.

"And you're obviously better now," Jess said sarcastically as concern flittered over his face. He led her to the couch and draped a blanket over her.

"I'm fine," she said, recovering from the coughing and trying to push the blanket off of her.

Jess thought quickly, and sat down on her lap, pinning her down to the couch.

"Jess! Get off!" She squirmed, knocking him off the couch.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Rory," Jess said, laughing and pulling her down with him.

"It's not Christmas."

"Eve."

"Oh."

And that's where they were two hours later, curled up on the floor with a blanket covering them and Jess reading aloud from Oliver Twist.

They were interrupted when another loud knock sounded through the cold apartment. Jess started to get up to answer it but Rory pulled him back down.

"It's probably Madeline. I'll get it."

Rory stood up, taking the blanket with her, leaving Jess on the floor complaining about the sudden cold but Rory just turned around and stuck her tongue out at him.

Making her way toward the doors, the knocking continued.

"Hold on, God."

She pulled open the door to come face to face with an older woman with red hair.

"Rory," she said coldly.

Rory stuttered for a second, wrapping the blanket around her, "Grandma?"

_Mimi-_

_Do you go to the Cat Scratch Club?_

_That's where I work - I dance - help me look_

_Roger-_

_Yes!_

_They used to tie you up –_

_Mimi-_

_It's a living._

-Light my Candle, "Rent"

**A/N: Ha! I did it! I wrote another chapter! I know it's short, though, sorry. I'll aspire to longer chapters later. Thanks to my reviewers!**

**_Sanfrangiantsfan, pam halliwell, LitGG1982, music4mysoul, lollysamantha, xxxLotxxx, miloluver, lora, milovroxmysox, gottalovethegilmores, eternalgorithm._**

Pam Halliwell: You should go see the movie or the play! It's my favorite movie now!

Music4mysoul: I couldn't remember Dave's name so I decided to take Seth's name on the OC because Adam Brody plays both and also Cohen was Mark's last name in Rent.

Lollysamantha: My favorite character is definitely either Mark or Angel. I loooooove Angel and Mark is just awesome. My favorite song is either La vie Boheme or I'll Cover You.

Milovroxmysox: I'm actually thinking about being a psychiatrist for either children or the criminally insane. Two completely different categories.


	3. Chapter 3: Today 4 U

Disclaimer: I own Gilmore Girls and I'm rakin' in the dough, buying yachts and other large vehicles. That's what I would tell you if my name was Amy Sherman Palladino. But I'm not Amy, though, as much as I wish I was. Wait. Does she buy yachts? I just pulled that outta my butt. Cough Yeah, that's a term me and my friends use... Back to the disclaimer... ASP came up with GG, not me. And Jonathan Larson (the genius who I now completely worship) came up with Rent, which is inspired by an Italian opera called La Boheme, which is by Giacomo Puccini. I think I may have gone a little too far with this...

**A/N: Hey all! I'm so totally proud of myself! I'm updating, again while I could be doing my homework, but who wants to do that? I've decided to boycott homework for a while. Has anybody else seen that commercial for some cell phone company where there's a "caffeinated cheerleader" talking on a cell phone nonstop, saying things like, "I think that like, maybe the cheerleading squad should, like, boycott tuna for a while," and then in a whiny voice with tears streaming down her cheeks, "I was going to be the only one in a white swimsuit, then she had one too!" And my personal favorite, "I love chewing gum..."**

**It's so sad that she reminds me of me in the sense that I never talk talking. Like I am now. Onto the story that I call:**

**NO DAY BUT TODAY!**

Chapter Three: Today 4 U

_It Was My Lucky Day Today On Avenue A _

_When A Lady In A Limousine Drove My Way _

_She Said, "Dahling-Be A Dear - Haven't _

_Slept In A Year _

_I Need Your Help To Make My Neighbor's _

_Yappy Dog Disappear" _

_"This Akita-Evita - Just Won't Shut Up _

_I Believe If You Play Non-Stop That Pup _

_Will Breathe Its Very Last High-Strung _

_Breath _

_I'm Certain That Cur Will Bark Itself To _

_Death"_

_**Recap:**_

_**She pulled open the door to come face to face with an older woman with red hair.**_

"_**Rory," she said coldly.**_

**_Rory stuttered _for_ a second, wrapping the blanket tighter around her, "Grandma?"  
_**

Now on with the story:

"Grandma?"

Emily pushed her way into the room, "Rory, It's freezing in here, why is there no heat?"

Rory, stunned, shut the door and followed her grandmother, grabbing her arm before she could enter the living room.

"How did you know where to find me?"

"It's very rude not to answer questions, Lorelai," Emily said, her voice cold and her nose wrinkled as though something smelled.

"Yes, it is, and don't call me that. How?"

"You didn't cover your tracks up very well, I hired a private investigator, of course." She looked around, frowing at her surroundings. "How long have you lived here?"

"Obviously I did cover them up well because I've been gone for almost 4 years, that's how long I've lived here. Why are you here?" Rory hoped that Jess could hear her and Emily talking and would get the message that he should hide or something.

"To take you home of course, you can't live here anymore."

"You can't take me anywhere, Grandma, I'm 19, I'm not a minor anymore."

"You are living in a freezing apartment with some girl named Jessica, Lorelai, you can't stay here. Your Grandfather and I can arrange for you to finish your education and go to college."

"Jess, Grandma, and he's not a girl. I don't want to go to college, and I'm not leaving with you."

Emily blanched for a second, ignoring everything her grand-daughter had just said besides the part about her room-mate being a boy.

"You live with a man? Rory, how could you do that? You're too young!"

And of course, since Rory was the luckiest girl in the world, Jess took that moment to walk in.

"'Ror, I want the blanket back. The floor is freez – Oh, who are you?"

Rory thought fast and gave the blanket to Jess, pushing him back into the other room. "She's leaving." Then turning to her grandma, she put her hand on her shoulder leading her towards the door.

"Grandma, I'll call you, okay? You can't bring me with you. Good-bye."

And before Emily could respond, Rory closed the door and leaned against it, sighing.

"Happy Birthday, Jesus."

**A/N: Hey guys! All the reviews were awesome and I really appreciate them!**

**Now. I have a couple trivia questions for you. Anybody who answers them all right gets the next chapter dedicated to them:**

**1) What song did the last line of this chapter come from in Rent?**

**2) When was Rory and Jess' first kiss?**

**3) What is the name of this song?**

_**Will I lose my dignity?**_

_**Will someone care?**_

_**Will I wake tomorrow,**_

_**From this nightmare?**_

**Review and tell me your answers!**


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